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Ranwell1, Small Engine Technician

Category: Small Engine

Satisfied Customers: 10298

Experience: I Own a Lawn Mower Sales and service business (37years). Have 2-cycle and 4-cycle certification.

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I recently purchased a Troy-bilt TB 3000 Xp pressure washer

Resolved Question:

I recently purchased a Troy-bilt TB 3000 Xp pressure washer with a Honda Engine. I used it to clean my deck. The only complaint that I have is when I am not running the spray nozzle and the unit is idling, the engine continually idles at a fast then a slow speed continually. I'm assuming that there is a adjustment that can be made to smooth out the idle. Any ideas?

"Please leave a GOOD rating for me as that is the only way I get paid for my time. If you cannot give me one of the highest ratings, then please do not rate me AT ALL until we discuss this answer further and you are happy with my answer"

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Actually there is really no adjustment that can be made to this to fix the problem. The usual cause of this is a dirty carburetor. This can even happen to NEW units if it has been sitting for a while unsold.

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The small passages inside the carburetor will get restricted or partially clogged and it will not idle correctly.

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Most likely the problem you have is that the carburetor is restricted or pluggedbecause of fuel that was left in the carburetor while it was stored.

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Fuel CANNOT be used if it is over 30 days old. Also this old fuel will not burncorrectly and will cause other issues as well.............

In many cases the carburetor should be removed and cleaned and rebuilt with a new carburetor repair kit.

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Even if an engine is run dry, there will still be 10 to 12 drops of fuel left in thecarburetor. This is what turns to gum and varnish and dirt and restricts thepassages in the carburetor. Also keep in mind that even if this is a BRAND NEWunit, you can still have this same carburetor problem. This is because of thefuel that the factory puts into it when they are testing it. They then run itdry before shipping it. But there is still some fuel in the carburetor.

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I do have a possible Quick fix for you, but you must use what I tell you.

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DO NOT USE regular CARBURETOR CLEANER such as GUMOUT or something similar. These carb cleaners will ruin the rubber parts of the carburetor.

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Here is the possible Quick fix.:

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There is one good thing you can try. It is called "Mechanic in a bottle".

..........It is usually available at Home Depot some Walmart stores or many autopartsstores. Even some Mower repair shops. We carry it at my store. It is very newto the industry and is the very best.

"Mechanic in a Bottle" is designed to help clean the carburetor without damaging the diaphragms and rubber parts like regular carburetor cleaner. Click on the site above and it will tell you all about it.

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This helps sometimes, but other times it does not and the only solution is to clean and rebuild the carburetor.

It actually breaks down the varnish and alcohol and water into its molecularcomponents and it completely dissolves these substances. It DOES NOT clog up the jets as conventional carburetor cleaners do. Conventional carb cleanersjust loosen the varnish and the varnish particles will go into the jets andfilters and clog them up.... usually causing much more problems that wasoriginally there. The conventional carb cleaners also will loosen the"GUNK" that has formed in the gas tanks and cause all of that gunk togo through the carburetor as well.

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The Mechanic in a BOTTLE is a completely revolutionary product that will in many case alleviate the need to tear the carburetor down and rebuilt it..... unlessthere is mechanical wear and tear that would require that parts be replaced.

In addition, the special formula actually is designed to soften and restore therubber parts in the carburetor such as the needle and seats and gaskets.

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Mechanic in a bottle is NOT a "cure-all" but it can help the customer get going in many cases without them having to tear the carburetor apart. If the customer is NOT mechanically inclined, it might save them a trip to the repair shop.

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Yes I was very skeptical about this product when I first was introduced to it, butthe Distributor demonstrated it and we have tried it on many occasions withterrific results. Many of the Justanswer customers have come back to thank mefor telling them about it and it solved their issues.

..............Here is some information that I got off their website.

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Varnished carburetor? Fuel gone bad? Water in the tank & carburetor

causing corrosion from ethanol? "FIX THE UNFIXABLE" Mechanic In A

Bottle removes all varnish in the fuel system without having to remove

the carburetor from the machine. Add to your gasoline and you will be

able to clean varnish and carbon.

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Restore old fuel by separating the hydrocarbon chains that have bonded

together since the fuel has deteriorated. An octane booster is added to

replace the lost octane in the decayed fuel. We do not use any metals in

our formula to increase the octane.

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Remove carbon deposits from combustion chamber components

including the combustion chamber, piston(s), rings and valves.

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Dual lubricants condition the rubber and plastic components. They also

rejuvenate and protect the rubber gaskets and seals that may have been

Start engine and run for at least 10 minutes. Let engine stand for at least

8 hours before restarting. Continue use of mixed MIB fuel until gone. Use

Ethanol Shield all the time to prevent fuel related problems.

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Non Running Engine:

Add 4 ounces of Mechanic In A Bottle (MIB) into an empty fuel tank and

prime the MIB through the fuel system into the carburetor. Wait at least 8

hours before draining contaminated MIB from the fuel system and addingfresh fuel mixed 2 ounces MIB to 1 gallon of fresh gasoline.

Severely contaminated fuel systems let stand overnight or repeat if

necessary.

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Maintenance:

Mix1 ounce of MIB to 5 gallons of gasoline.

This is a fuel additive not a replacement for 2 cycle oil.

This helps sometimes, but other times it does not and the only solution is to clean and rebuild the carburetor.

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Here is my comprehensive carburetor and fuel answer that may give you some ideas.

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As engines sit or get older, fuel that is left in the carburetor can turn to gumand varnish and cause this and other problems. Also, any gasoline that was left in a gas can for a period of more than 30 days must be discarded because it also has begun to turn to varnish.

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Today's gasolines contain MTBE and alcohol. (Ethanol) They turn to "Junk andgarbage" very quickly. Alcohol is partially water (H2O). And they call it "Oxygenated fuels! It is the oxygen that breaks down the organic compounds in the fuel and turns the gas to "Garbage" (Gum and varnish) The fuels we had just a few years ago had no alcohol in it and would store for longer periods of time before going stale... and fuel stabilizers do almost nothing to prevent the fuel from going bad with the changes in today's fuels.

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Do not buy gas from the "Discount" Stations. The discount stations get areduced price on gas.................because they may be buying fuel that is nearly 30 days old already. You may begetting fuel that's nearly stale right from the pump when buying from adiscount station. Purchase your fuel from the well-known stations such asShell, BP, Sonoco, Phillips 66 etc.

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More than 70% of all of our repairs in our lawn mower business are due to this same issue. You most likely have dirt, gum, varnish...etc in your carburetorplugging up the small passageways and jets in the carburetor.

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The carburetor must be removed from the engine. Clean all parts with carburetorcleaner and blow out all the small holes and passageways with compressed air. Remove all of the non-metallic parts since the carburetor cleaner will cause them to be disfigured decompose and plug the carburetor as time goes on.

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Wash the carburetor cleaner off of the metal parts by washing them in warm, soapy water then rinsing with clean water. Dry them by blowing it off with compressed air. Make sure that all the passageways are blown dry before reassembling.

Reassemble using a NEW carburetor rebuild kit.

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DO NOT TRY TO REASSEMBLE WITHOUT USING A COMPLTE CARBURETOR KIT! You will just end up having to do the job again.

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ALWAYS clean the fuel tank and replace the fuel line when doing this repair or you may have to do it all over again. The inside of the fuel line disintegrates overtime and these small pieces of rubber will plug up the carburetor too. Dirt andwater from a dirty fuel tank will also plug up the carburetor. Find the Model,type and serial or code numbers off of the engine and take them to your localdealer to get the carburetor repair kit.

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If you do the work yourself, take pictures or at least make a drawing of where allthe linkages, gaskets, and component parts go. Correct reassembly is critical.

If the carburetor still doesn't work correctly, you may have to take it to someonewho has an "Ultra-sonic" cleaning machine. This machine uses carbcleaner and ultrasonic vibrations to get the very small passageways clean whentraditional methods fail.

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Here is where you can get an inexpensive "Ultrasonic Cleaning Machine"

If you don't feel comfortable with this kind of repair I would suggest sending itto a reputable shop.

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Here is a Carburetor rebuild process.

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First make sure that you have the correct complete carburetor repair kit.

Now take special care when you take the carburetor apart to make sure that youwatch and remember exactly how the gaskets come off.

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There are two types of carburetors. The "FLOAT" type carburetor and the"DIAPHRAM" type carburetor.

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Below is the information for the float carburetor.

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The Diaphragm carburetor is very similar except that you need to remove the diaphragms and replace them. They will also have a needle and sometimes a seat that need to be replaced as well.

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Remove the float pin ...it just pushes out...and remove the float. carefully... so you can see how the float needle is attached...(Some of them have a small wirespring holding it to the float....you will have to reinstall this spring whenyou reassemble the carburetor.

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Remove the float needle. Next...remove the float valve seat. . Look around thecarburetor and see if it has a small idle adjustment needle...remove thisneedle if it has one. You are now done disassembling the carb. DO not take anything else out of the carb.

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Get a good carburetor cleaner....preferably with a small hose you can attach to the nozzle of the can. Spray the carb cleaner all over the outside of thecarburetor. This will loosen the dirt on the outside while you clean theinside. Now spray the cleaner through every hole, and nook and cranny you canfine on the inside of the carb.

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When you are finished with the spray, blow all of the passageway clean withcompressed air from an air compressor. Also blow all of the dirt from theoutside of the carburetor.

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Next. Take the entire carburetor to the kitchen sink......Ok maybe it would be better to get a big bowl...so you don't make your wife mad....and wash the entire carburetor with HOT SOAPY dishwater. This is to make sure that all of the carburetor cleaner is completely washed from the carb...(If it is not, you will deform the new gaskets and such that you install...even if it is dry.) Now rinse in clear water and then blow the carb dry with the compressed air again.

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Reassemble the carb using the identical parts out of the carb kit as you took out. Install the float seat, then install the float needle and the float in the same position that you took them out. Check the float level after it is installed, making sure that when the carb is upside down with the float in the up position, the float should be nearly level with the body of the carburetor. Now reinstall the bowl gaskets the same as you took them off. Then install the bowl nut with the small gasket under it. Reinstall the small idle needle if it had one.

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There, you are done.

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Install the carburetor on the engine and you should be ready to go

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